Wireless communications devices such as cellular telephones and pagers are often used by family members to remain in touch with one another when conventional telephones cannot be used. In many households, parents use cellular telephones or pagers to monitor the after-school activities of their children. For example, it can be agreed beforehand that the child will place a call or page the parent once the child returns home after school. If desired, the child can send a paging message from his personal computer. However, if the child initiates the call or page, the parent will generally not be assured of the child's whereabouts, because the parent will not be sure of the location from which the cellular call or paging message originates.
To address this concern, the parent can call home to the child. However, the parent may not wish to be responsible for taking the initiative to place a telephone call. Even a conscientious parent may occasionally forget to call. And if the child is delayed for some reason, the parent may have to call home several times before reaching the child. Further, although the parent and child can attempt to keep such daily telephone calls brief, the calls may sometimes be perceived as intrusive, regardless of who initiates the call. What is needed is a way in which to overcome these problems.